The exhumation of Anne Boleyn and restoration of the Chapel of St. Peter Ad Vincula

• Nov 16, 2020

In 1848, a historian by the name of Lord Thomas Macaulay visited the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula in the grounds of The Tower of London. He recorded his thoughts on the place in the first edition of his book The History of England from the Accession of James the Second. Suffice to say, he was not impressed with what he discovered. He wrote,

I cannot refrain from expressing my disgust at the barbarous stupidity which has transformed this interesting little church in to the likeness of a meeting house in a manufacturing town. In truth, there is no sadder spot on earth than this little cemetery”

By 1876, a senior British army officer Sir Charles Yorke had been appointed Constable of the Tower. He recognised that urgent repair work was needed on the Chapel of St. Peter and submitted a restoration plan to Queen Victoria to approve. The purpose of his plans was to ensure the chapel was architecturally sound so that it could be used as a place of worship for those who lived and worked inside the Tower of London.

One of the biggest issues was that the floor of the church was in a very bad way, making the whole building unstable. The decision was taken to relay the pavement which had sunk in several places and to also provide greater insulation and comfort for the chapels parishioners. Hundreds of bones were found once the pavement had been lifted, all scattered together, probably done so to make room for more human remains. Queen Victoria ordered that “the greatest care and reverence should be exercised in this removal”, which was carried out. The bones that were found were labelled and reburied in the Tower crypt

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